Good Reads: From Japan鈥檚 new stance, to women in science, to floating cities
The Russian gambit in Crimea has deeply affected geopolitical thinking beyond the United States and Europe. Japan, which had high hopes of negotiating a friendly settlement over Japanese islands seized by Russia at the end of World War II, now is bracing for life with a more aggressive neighbor to its west across the Sea of Japan. The result will 鈥渞equire Asian countries to strengthen their defenses and unite to demand adherence to international law,鈥� writes Yuriko Koike, Japan鈥檚 former defense minister, on the website .
Russia鈥檚 move may also embolden Japan鈥檚 other giant neighbor, China. 鈥淭he days of an inward looking Japan are over,鈥� Ms. Koike concludes. Japanese eyes have been opened to how events elsewhere in the world will affect Japan鈥檚 own security. The island nation already has signaled its new policy by becoming the largest donor to Ukraine, pledging $1.5 billion in economic aid, the most by any country, including the US.
How an engineer solves world problems
Despite his concerted effort to give away his money, Bill Gates keeps making more, with his net worth now around $76 billion, making him the richest person in the world. And no ultra-rich person has probably ever worked harder at shedding the moniker of the 鈥渋dle rich.鈥� In an extensive interview with Jeff Goodell in , Mr. Gates talks about his efforts to solve some of the most pressing problems in the world, including diseases that hold back progress in the developing world, such as polio. He attacks these problems as an engineer seeking to fix broken systems.
In his worldview, he fits into no easy political category. He agrees with Democrats that the wealthy could easily pay a much higher portion of their incomes in taxes. But like conservatives, he鈥檚 not convinced that governments know how to run programs efficiently, calling them 鈥渁 pretty颅 blunt instrument鈥� prone to 鈥渘ot doing things very well.鈥� US immigration laws need fixing: They 鈥渁re bad 鈥� really, really bad.... [T]reatment of immigrants is one of the greatest injustices done in our government鈥檚 name.鈥� The top three problems in the US that he says need fixing? Political deadlock, the education system, and health-care costs.
Getting girls to like code
The US needs more talent in STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) fields. A great source would be women, who traditionally have not shown much interest in STEM careers. Under its president, Maria Klawe, herself a computer scientist, Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, Calif., has pioneered a three-step program to attract more women students to STEM studies, writes Manoush Zomorodi in , an online business journal.
It renamed esoteric-sounding computer science courses to sound more accessible and interesting, has arranged for women students to go on field trips to meet successful women working in tech fields, and created summer research programs that take place between freshman and sophomore years so the students can apply what they have learned. The result? The number of women pursuing computer science majors soared from 10 percent to 40 percent. Duke, Northwestern, and the University of California, Berkeley have also had success using similar schemes.
Floating utopias for a crowded planet
With sea levels on the rise, the once-fantastic idea of floating cities is getting a more serious hearing. While people have long lived on boats moored in city harbors, more formal floating neighborhoods are being developed in such places as London and Rotterdam, Netherlands, writes Jessa Gamble in Britain鈥檚 .
The greatest need may be in the developing world: A Nigerian architect has designed floating houses that could provide homes for those now living in a slum. A floating school has already been built there. The most ambitious scheme? The 鈥淔reedom Ship鈥� would be a mile-long, 3-million-ton barge with apartment buildings. It would tour the world, making stops just outside major ports, allowing onshore visits for its 40,000 permanent residents and 20,000 crew members. But is life on a fancy movable city feasible? 鈥淢any of our essential goods arrive by tanker anyway 鈥� a sea-based location would be all the more convenient,鈥� she writes.
The best game of summer
With baseball returning to only recently defrosted northern US cities, the has reprinted a classic essay on why America鈥檚 national pastime is 鈥淭he Best of All Games.鈥� Written in 1981 by the late John Rawls, an American philosopher and Harvard University professor, 鈥淭he Best of All Games鈥� recalls a conversation he had with another scholar, Harry Kalven. Among Mr. Kalven鈥檚 points: The dimensions of the baseball diamond (the distance from home plate to the pitcher鈥檚 mound and between the bases, etc.) have proved to be an ideal size to display an array of skills and 鈥済raceful exercise鈥� in running, throwing, and batting, dimensions that have stood the test of time.
In baseball, unlike in sports such as football and basketball, players of average height or weight can be successful. And unlike in other sports, scoring is done without possessing the ball, creating simultaneous excitement both where the ball is in play and where the runner is trying to advance. Finally, Rawls wrote, winning doesn鈥檛 depend on time running out. This means that there is always time for the losing side to make a comeback. 鈥淭he last of the ninth inning becomes one of the most potentially exciting parts of the game,鈥� he says.
